NIU Huskies hope to start new streak

After early struggles, the Northern Illinois Huskies finally found the win column. Their reward? The defending Mid-American Conference champions.

Jay Taft

After early struggles, the Northern Illinois Huskies finally found the win column. Their reward? The defending Mid-American Conference champions.

NIU (1-3, 0-1) snapped its season-opening three-game losing skid with a 42-35 victory at Idaho last weekend. Now, the Huskies look to notch their first conference win, but it will have to be at 11 a.m. Saturday at Central Michigan (1-3, 1-0).

“They talk about must-games; they’re all must-games for us,” NIU head coach Joe Novak said. “But if we’re going to stay in the race, we have to win this game. If we don’t, we’re probably out. We’ve been fortunate the last nine years; this is a team that will not go down easy.”
Saturday's game
Who: NIU (1-3, 0-1) at Central Michigan (1-3, 1-0)
Time: 11 a.m.
Where: Mount Pleasant, Mich.
TV/Radio: WTVO-17, ESPN-Plus; WSCR (670 AM); WRHL (1060 AM); WTJK (1380 AM)

The Huskies have a few numbers on their side, including nine straight wins over Central Michigan. NIU also has won six of its last seven road MAC games, and is 16-4 in such match-ups the past four seasons. And the Chippewas are riding a two-game losing streak.

But the Huskies squandered two late leads already this season, ending in a 34-31 loss to SIU and a 21-19 defeat to Eastern Michigan, and nearly let a 35-7 first-half lead slip away last week.

However, Novak knows that “a win’s a win. We did it the hard way, but we got out of there with a win.”

Helping in the cause was defensive end Larry English, who earned the last of his school-record five sacks in the waning seconds to stop Idaho inside NIU’s 20 to end the game. Running back Justin Anderson, who rushed for 167 yards and scored for the third straight game, and quarterback Dan Nicholson, who was 10-for-17 for 168 yards with two TD pass and no INTs, also stepped up with their most efficient games of the season.

“Anytime you get a win, you start to feel better. We really needed that,” said Nicholson, who had his first turnover-free game last week. “We know (Central Michigan is) the MAC champs, and we know everybody predicted them to do well again this year. A win in this one would be big. It would turn this all around real quick.”

Nicholson expects to spend most of the day handing off to his running backs, saying “we should be able to run the ball again this week.”

The Huskies are third in the MAC in rushing and 10th in passing.

As for English and the defense, they will most likely key on the Chippewas’ solid QB Dan LeFevour, who put up 217 yards passing and 88 yards rushing during last year’s 31-10 NIU victory.

“He can make you pay in a lot of ways,” Novak said of LeFevour, who has 966 yards passing with six TDs and three INTs so far this year. “Everyone of our games in Mt. Pleasant (Mich.) have been real battles. ”

College reporter Jay Taft can be reached at 815-987-1382 or jtaft@rrstar.com.

Sister Publication

Original content available for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons license, except where noted.
Boonville Daily News - Boonville, MO ~ 412 High St. Boonville, MO 65233 ~ Privacy Policy ~ Terms Of Service